A day after receiving the letter, Martin's office quietly tabled the vote.

Rush and Towns, though, want the FCC to approve the plan through an FCC process that allows the agency to vote on proposals that are "on circulation" within the agency.

"We request you resolve this matter on circulation in the near term by immediately adopting rules for a free nationwide wireless broadband network that will provide all Americans with high-speed data services," the lawmakers wrote in a Dec. 16 letter to FCC Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein.

Martin's spectrum auction plan would require the winner to provide a free wireless broadband tier to 50 percent of the United States in four years and 95 percent of the country within 10 years. The proposed free broadband network would support itself by advertising and offering faster speeds on pay tiers. The free tier of broadband services would be family-friendly, with the FCC requiring the winning bidder to filter out pornography.

Under Martin's plan, the airwaves to be auctioned would include 25MHz in the 2,155 to 2,180MHz advanced wireless services band. In addition, Martin wants to impose an open access requirement on the spectrum, allowing any device or software to plug into the network.